As a living legacy towards modernization since its inception in 1773 during the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) in Türkiye continues to thrive as a leading, learning and research hub for creative and analytical contributions to sustainable, social progress.

With origins as a school of naval engineering, the institution has grown to 14 faculties comprised of over 2000 academicians providing 67 undergrad and 179 graduate programs to more than 40,000 students across 5 campuses. It also features a robust, international work | study program through more than 140 mutual partnerships worldwide.

İTÜ’s historic, 52,000 square meter, Taşkışla campus was built in 1850 as a military hospital and repurposed periodically thereafter until its establishment for the university in 1950.

Today, this National Heritage Site is home to İTÜ’s Faculty of Architecture, which is fully accredited by the International Federation of Landscape Architects and is the first, foreign school recognized by the National Architectural Accrediting Board in the United States. The school also counts the university’s Industrial Product Design program among the professional fields represented at its campus.

In early 2000, after arriving in Istanbul, Türkiye amid broader travels to learn about other cultures, I was graciously hosted for a visit with industrial design students at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. Professor Alpay Er—then with the Industrial Product Design program at Istanbul Technical University—also happened to be visiting that day and attended the event.

As we then spoke afterwards, he shared his interest in having me accompany the İTÜ design studio courses. With the offer including complimentary, faculty housing—which would facilitate my prolonged stay and personal studies in the country—I was on board.

And a Visiting Instructor position indeed proved ideal for my ethnographic aims. I came to know students and staff through their respective, age dependent demographics, while also being immersed in the government operated, higher education system as a telling, societal construct.

An initial observation was the status afforded to academic achievement, relative to professional performance, in university faculty backgrounds. Differing from the American norm, Turkish instructors and professors often earned their requisite, masters and or PhD degrees and entered directly into teaching before gaining related work experience.

So, by extending his invite while knowing I had only a bachelor’s degree—but also years of applied practice—Alpay seemed in favor of balancing İTÜ’s predominantly academic base of instruction with a bit of empirical, foreign aptitude too.

That approach also appeared to appeal to the students, eager to see how their lessons would actually apply in their employment and to learn through a practical, vocational purview. We explored design as ‘the process of possibility’, in which the tangible qualities of a design express the intangible, emotional ‘user experiences’ that people desire.

Through in depth, class demonstrations I taught ideation, sketching, model making, mass production methods, and presentation skills. I proactively authored essays as well, on product development topics preparing students for design roles in companies like Turkish appliance manufacturer, Vestel—the corporate sponsor of their term project.

One such writing would be published in the Turkish, architecture, design, and art communication magazine, ‘m,’ as part of a promotional article on the Vestel project.

And, to reinforce student confidence in rapid, visual expression and concept iteration, I composed a 40 page book of illustrative sketching and marker rendering samples to practice elemental and expressive aspects of hand drawn ideas.

Introducing vacuum form, plastic part fabrication for concept models, mock ups, and prototypes was another contribution to the program. I built the required, tooling fixture and bought a countertop oven to donate to the cause, along with training students in the mold making and material forming process.

Another cultural distinction I found notable was the traditionally formal relationship between students and the teaching staff. Although my prominently interactive style with students consequently came across as rather unconventional, it was readily acknowledged as effective too.

Through a casual rapport that included occasional times together off campus, the students and I maintained a constructive, learning coach relationship in class. This interpersonal balance fostered their openness to inquiry and their receptivity to supportive feedback.

How satisfying as an instructor, then, to discover that my prior career experience could have such cross cultural value beyond merely teaching design as an experience. While, also affirming that connecting with people at various levels—be they students, staff, or any other stakeholder—promotes a healthy familiarity through which to understand the needs of others and, in turn, to serve them with greater empathy.

Once again, as with the insights gained previously at grandesign in Portugal, this awareness was just one of many learnings instilled through travel which would benefit my personal and professional pursuits for a lifetime to come.